We’ve been looking at the points in the Character element of the checklist. Here are a couple more: ☐ Continuity is maintained in characters’ appearance, habits, and vocabulary. This is where your style sheet will come in handy. Some call it a character bible, but copyeditors usually call it a …
Finer points of character development
Last time we looked at the importance of great characters in fiction. Now, let’s break down the points in the Character segment of the Elements of Fiction Editing Checklist. ☐ Principal characters are well-rounded and realistic. The goal here is to avoid one-note characters. Remember that people have multiple interests. …
Why Character is the most important fiction element
The editing checklist I presented last time is written in order of importance according to me. Other editors will disagree about what is the most important aspect of a novel. I put Character at the top of the list because the characters, especially the viewpoint characters, are how the reader …
Before editing, develop a plan
Many writers get to the end of a rough draft and then start revising without a clear plan. We’re taught how to write, but often we’re not taught how to edit. Professional editors know that editing requires a clear plan. Working without one can lead to months, if not years, …
Read your rough draft before you edit
Now that you’ve taken some time off from your manuscript, you can approach it as a reader would. Read through your novel as quickly as possible to get a feel for the story. Do this in whatever way is comfortable for you. At your local office supply and copy center, …
Your hard drive will crash
While I was at the FWA Bradenton Mini-Conference last week, Dropbox had a major service outage. This wasn’t a huge problem for me, just an inconvenience. For others, not so much. Dropbox is an online storage service, and a lot of writers use it as their main backup. A glitch …
How to prevent continuity errors in your book
Continuity errors drive us batty, especially when they’re our own. They’re most noticeable in films, for example when a character is wearing a hat in one shot but not in another shot during the same scene. But such errors happen in books, too, and must be rooted out during editing. …
Writers need professional e-mail addresses
When you’re just starting out, it doesn’t matter what your e-mail address looks like. But when you reach the point of submitting to publishers or even self-publishing, you need a professional e-mail address. Make that especially if you’re self-publishing. The self-published author is a businessperson, and needs a businesslike address. …
Your first draft can be awful, as long as it’s finished
The difference between a good novel and a great novel is editing. Before you submit your manuscript for traditional publication, you must edit thoroughly. That goes double if you plan to self-publish. At the Florida Writers Association’s Mid-Winter Conference West and Reading Festival in Bradenton last week, one of the …
Tomatoes and time management
One of the keys to managing your time and your projects is breaking large projects down into do-able tasks. Writing a book is a massive job, and if your to-do list says “write book,” that item will be there for months, mocking your inability to cross it off. But “write …